Floatin' Powa News Service: Serfs Us Right...

WE ASKED FOR IT.

The wicked shall be turned into hell,
and all the nations that forget God.
~ Psalm 9:17

HELL:
7585
שׁאל שׁאול
שְׁאוֹל שְׁאוֹל ‎ sh^e‘ôl sh^e‘ôl
sheh-ole‘, sheh-ole‘
From 7592: hades or the world of the dead
(as if a subterranean retreat),
including its accessories and inmates:
the grave, hell, the pit.

FROM 7592:
שׁאל שׁאל
שָׁאַל שָׁאֵל ‎ shâ‘al shâ‘êl
shaw-al‘, shaw-ale‘
A primitive root; to inquire;
by implication to request;
by extension to demand: - ask (counsel, on),
beg, borrow, lay to charge, consult, demand, desire,
earnestly, enquire, + greet, obtain leave,
lend, pray, request, require,
+ salute, surely, wish.

EGYPT: Police shut down Iran solidarity march

An attempt by Egyptians to march in solidarity with Iranian protesters and to honor Neda-Agha Soltan -- whose death earlier this month made her the icon of Iran's opposition movement -- was halted by security forces in Cairo over the weekend.

Ahmadinejad calls Iranian martyr Neda's death 'suspicious'
The Zionists did it. With the hair rays. On the Temple Mount.

Ahmadinejad vows to break 'global monopoly'
He wants to be the race car dammit! Do not pass go!

Iran frees five staff of British embassy

Life in Iran will be worse than before

The social repression of President Ahmadinejad's first term will look mild compared to what is coming, for that is the only way this severely weakened regime can now maintain power.

US soldiers leave Iraq's cities

Foreign Firms Bid for Iraqi Oil Licenses

Iraq auction terms deter oil firms, BP wins prize

A Caliphate of Toxic Assets

The Muslim organization Hizb Ut Tahrir capitalizes on Muslim Brotherhood founder Hassan al-Banna's 20th century derivative, encouraging followers to build a parallel financial structure. Al-Banna envisioned the resultant Shari'a-compliant finance as a “back door” into Western financial markets and institutions through which to supplant liberty and prosperity with Islam. Muslim clerics including MB spiritual leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi promote Shari'a finance as generally safer than Western investments, a diversification method to steady personal assets -- and a stable economic system that should replace capitalism. Call it “financial replacement theology,” if you wish.

Metka (Greece)to build power plant in Syria

France's Kouchner to visit Lebanon, Syria 'soon'

"Kouchner will also visit Damascus in July to preside over a regional conference for French ambassadors"

Israel says Sarkozy advised government to sack FM

Experts Voice New Hope for Solution to Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
WTF would we do without "experts'? American Pravda features here the expert opinion of Ziad Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine:

Ziad Asali, president of the American Task Force on Palestine, says initial movement toward that solution was stalled by Israeli hard-liner Benjamin Netanyahu during his first term as prime minister from 1996 to 1999. But Asali believes President Obama's recent address in Cairo and other U.S. initiatives have revived interest in the issue by underscoring American support for the two-state solution and calling on Israel to freeze all settlement activities in the occupied territories.

Next up is Expert Mr. Ori Nir, Spokesman for PEACE NOW!

Ori Nir, spokesman for Americans for Peace Now , the U.S. branch of Israel's Peace Now movement, says Netanyahu's insistence on maintaining Israeli control of Palestinian air and sea lanes, ruling out the right of return of Palestinian refugees and rejecting U.S. calls to freeze settlements, all threaten progress toward the two-state solution. Nevertheless, Nir believes President Obama can persuade Prime Minister Netanyahu to back up his general acceptance of a Palestinian state with constructive actions.

Expert #3 - Samer Shehata, a fellow at the Washington-based Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars:

"It is clear that President Obama has a very different perspective on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and the U.S. role than the previous administration. He talked about Palestinian suffering, the daily humiliations of occupation, Palestinian dislocation, and also said that their condition was intolerable, and he talked about Palestine as a state. So this, I think, implies that the U.S. will have renewed efforts and possibly would be more balanced with regard to trying to address the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, possibly put more pressure on Israel."

For a so called scholar dude is way stupid deluxe. "Daily humiliation of occupation" was a 2006 GWB nugget:
The Palestinian people have suffered from decades of corruption and violence and the daily humiliation of occupation

To wit....
TNR: JUST LIKE BUSH

But in fact, much of Obama's speech had a different sort of familiar ring. Most of his main arguments have been made before--not just by Obama himself, but by his predecessor. "Today I'd like to speak directly to the people across the broader Middle East," George W. Bush said at the United Nations on September 16, 2006. Like Obama, Bush explained that the United States is not at war with Islam.

Like Obama, Bush said that America respects the history and traditions of the Muslim world. Like Obama, Bush deplored the September 11 attacks and vowed to fight the tiny minority of Islamic extremists.

Bush also assured his audience that "freedom, by its nature, cannot be imposed. It must be chosen;" Obama said that "no system of government can or should be imposed upon one nation by any other." Bush lamented the "daily humiliation of occupation" suffered by the Palestinians; Obama said the Palestinians "endure the daily humiliations... that come with occupation." Bush assured Iran that he did not oppose their use of peaceful nuclear power; so did Obama.

Bush's 2006 speech, of course, was immediately forgotten--a non-event with no impact on America's image abroad.

PA official: Hamas planned to assassinate senior officials

The Palestinian Authority has recently arrested a Hamas cell that admitted to planning to assassinate senior Palestinian officials by July 7, the date set by Egypt for the signing of an agreement between Fatah and the Islamist group, the head of the Palestinian Presidency said on Monday.

Fatah accuses Hamas government of arresting dozens

Hamas Leader Khaled Mash'al:
"We Reject the So-Called 'Jewishness‘ of Israel"

Hamas stole more humanitarian aid

Palestinian families coping well with resettlement in Iceland

Oil prices jump on Nigeria troubles
MmmHmmmm.

Honduras tense as world calls for reverse of coup
Naturally the Glow Ball "outraged" over this thing, a communist was ousted:

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez urged Zelaya to meet with Obama, saying the US president's attention to the matter could "deliver a major blow" to those who ousted Zelaya.

Dude who was overthrown was completely allied with Chavez

Newly-appointed Honduran acting President Roberto Micheletti said on Sunday the country's armed forces are ready to cope with any external threats

In response to criticism by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, Micheletti said the military had done what they should to defend the dignity of the country's constitution, brushing aside allegation that the army had staged a military coup.

Speaking via telephone from his home in Tegucigalpa on Monday, interim Honduran President Roberto Micheletti again defended the actions of Honduran military officials in booting President Manuel Zelaya from power:

''We can't allow that this government take us to communism or socialism,'' Micheletti told a group of reporters at a telephone press conference organized by Honduran Unity, a Miami-based group of Honduran activists who support Micheletti.

Oil workers urge Chavez to Pay

Supreme Court Rejects Chevron Appeal Against Ecuadorian Oil Co

The U.S. Supreme Court said Monday that it won't decide whether an Ecuadorian oil company can be held partially responsible in a $27 billion case against its former business partner, Texaco Petroleum Co., a unit of Chevron Corp.

Pyongyang's True Ideology

That country was the world's first self-proclaimed "national defense state." Japan's leaders demonstrated that a leadership cult, a repressive security apparatus and a command economy do not a communist country make. In 1945 former North Korean leader Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong Il's father, and his faction conducted a wholesale "Koreanization" of imperial Japanese propaganda, taking over everything from the cult of the parental Great Marshall on a white horse right down to the myth of a uniquely virtuous race surrounded by an evil world. The elder Kim paid lip-service to Marxism-Leninism even as he purged his young regime of Korean communists.

This ideological heritage is more obvious today than ever. Current propaganda extolling the ongoing "150 Day Battle," the most hysterical in a long line of production campaigns, likens every worker to a fighter. Signs reading "battleground" hang over the entrances to mines and factories. The nation's youth are exhorted, in ever more strident tones, to prepare to sacrifice their lives for the General, to become "resolve-to-die squads" (gyeolsadae) and "human bullets" (yuktan) in the "holy war" (seongjeon) against America. These are exact Korean translations of terms and symbols used in fascist Japan.

Zimbabwe Obtains $950 Million Credit Line From China

5.1 - TAIWAN

4.7 - TAIWAN

5.2 - EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA

4.9 - EASTERN SICHUAN, CHINA

China bribed FARC to use land

A subsidiary of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in Colombia bribed the FARC in exchange for permission to operate in guerrilla territory in the west of the country, an ex FARC hostage denounced.

Iraq Oil a Big Draw for Chinese

As Iraq Stabilizes, China Eyes Its Oil Fields

BP, China win right to develop Iraq's Rumalia oil field

China Plans to Raise Oil Reserves 160% Over 5 Years

China Increases Diesel, Gasoline Prices to Help Oil Refiners

China and Russia will cooperate on oil refinery

China makes surprise fuel-price hike

Putin Orders Banks to Lend $13Bl

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Monday gave state-controlled banks a tight three-month deadline to hand out at least $13 billion in loans to major companies — and he told the bank's CEOs that they couldn't take vacations until they had followed orders.

EU says Ukraine must reform gas sector

The European Union said Monday it will push Ukraine to reform its natural gas sector in return for an international loan package to help pay a multibillion dollar debt to Russia.

Ukraine and Russia started talks with international banks Monday, seeking some $4.2 billion to restock Ukraine's gas stores for next winter and help it pay for monthly gas imports from Russia.

EU brings Russia and Ukraine together for gas talks

Medvedev Seals ‘Milestone’ Gas Deal in Bid to Thwart EU Rivals

Today’s agreement is a “milestone” for future cooperation, Medvedev said after meeting his counterpart Ilham Aliyev, who said the agreement “turns the page” in relations with Russia. When Gazprom threatened to more than double gas prices in December 2006, Aliyev halted imports and used fuel oil instead to supply power plants. Gazprom will get priority treatment when the State Oil Co. of Azerbaijan determines the buyers for the offshore field, said Alexei Miller, chief executive officer of the Russian company. Azerbaijan’s gas production will rise 11 percent to 30 billion cubic meters next year, Aliyev said.

Russia gas flows to Europe under threat: IEA
ya think?

Gazprom eyeing British markets

Gazprom announced major plans to expand into the British energy market over the course of the next few years, corporate officials told shareholders. Gazprom chief Alexei Miller told officials at the annual shareholder meeting the energy monopoly could ship more than 266 billion cubic feet of natural gas to British markets each year. "

Gazprom plans to account for 10 percent of the British market by 2011," he said.

Gazprom Neft acquires control in London-based oil company Sibir Energy

Gazprom Stays the Course Under Putin's "Manual Management"

Gazprom welcomes Shell back to Sakhalin

Russian army exercises near Georgian border

Russian exercises anger Georgia
I would think so.

Putin's surprise birthday gift for Communist leader

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has astonished the leader of the Russian Communist Party by presenting him with an unexpected birthday gift — an early Soviet edition of the Communist Manifesto.

Speaking to Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov and other party leaders, Putin described the ideas of the 1848 manifesto’s authors Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels as “interesting” and “important”, the press reported Monday.

“Marx and Engels examined these problems and spoke about cyclical crises, They started to examine the problems that we today call globalisation,” Putin told the meeting at his country residence on Sunday.

He added that no-one had yet found an “antidote” to these problems, amid a global economic crisis that has hit Russia hard.

Obama Will Speak At Russian School Graduation

U.S. President Barack Obama will make a commencement speech to 1,000 guests at the New Economic School and hold talks with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, officials said, as details emerged of Obama's much-anticipated visit to Moscow on July 6 to 8.

Obama will discuss the economic crisis and security issues during the graduation ceremony at the school on July 7, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters.

"The speech will be an opportunity for President Obama to discuss areas of mutual interest between the United States and Russia such as nonproliferation, global security and economic growth," Gibbs said Thursday, according to a transcript published on the White House web site.

The graduation ceremony will run from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and be attended by about 1,000 people, said the New Economic School, a privately funded graduate school founded in 1992. "We are honored that President Obama will participate in our graduation ceremonies," school rector Sergei Guriyev said in a statement. "Our graduates, their families and the NES faculty, staff and alumni are looking forward to President Obama's address, particularly at a time when both the U.S. and Russian economies face such great challenges."

Gibbs said Obama would also attend a "civil society event" and a business forum during his visit. The forum of U.S. and Russian business leaders is scheduled for July 7 and is being organized by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and the American Chamber of Commerce.

Gibbs said he did not know which U.S. business executives might accompany Obama on the trip.

Azeri gas deal brings Gazprom to the Caspian table

Gazprom seals contract with Azerbaijan

Israel's President Peres Meets With Azerbaijan Jewish Leaders

Iran recalls ambassador to Azerbaijan to protest Peres visit

Iran recalled its ambassador to Azerbaijan for consultations yesterday, a day after President Shimon Peres visited the central Asian country.

According to the Iranian news agency INSA, the envoy was recalled due to both Peres' visit and unspecified "threats" it said Israel's ambassador in Baku had voiced against Iran.

"Both countries will remain faithful to the principle of brotherhood. These relations are integral for a grand union of Turks.”

Turkey's relations with Azerbaijan were in trouble due to speculation that Turkey would be opening its border with Armenia. As a reaction to Turkey, Azerbaijan's president, İlham Aliyev, cancelled plans to attend an Alliance of Civilizations meeting in İstanbul. Although Aliyev said he could not participate because of his busy schedule, a few days later he met with Russian President Dimitri Medvedev in Russia.

Kazakhstan Hosts Koom Bah Humbug Glow Ball Ho Down

Seventh meeting of the Secretariat of the Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions opened in Astana today under the chairmanship of the Speaker of the Senate of the Kazakh Parliament and Head of the Secretariat Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

"We can make our forum not only main area of global interfaith dialogue, but also a universal platform for constructive dialogue on pressing issues of our time," Tokayev said.

Peres wraps-up visit to Azerbaijan, heads to Kazakhstan

Peres: 'Stop selling uranium ores to Iran"

4.7 - CENTRAL KAZAKHSTAN

Three die in Kazakhstan coal mine collapse

Israeli detained in Kazakhstan tells court he was weapons envoy

Dr. Boris Sheinkman, who has been detained in Kazakhstan for three months, has filed a petition with the High Court of Justice against the prime minister, foreign minister, and defense minister demanding that the court force them to recognize the fact that he was in the country as an envoy of the Israeli weapons industry. Sheinkman is also demanding that the court order the ministers to release documents testifying to this account.

OSCE Secretary General to visit Kazakhstan

WTF is OSCE you may ask?

Chairman of the Caucasian Muslims Office Sheikh-al-Islam Allahshukur Pashazadeh will leave for Kazakhstan on Tuesday

He will attend the Third Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional religions in Astana, Kazakhstan on July 1-2, 2009 as a chairman of the newly-established Council of Advisers of CIS Muslim Leaders.

The congress, initiated and supported by the government of Kazakhstan, aims to contribute to the cross-religions dialogue and solidarity. Traditionally the Astana congress will be dedicated to the "Role of religious leaders in building the world based on tolerance, mutual respect and cooperation". Allahshukur Pashazadeh expected to deliver speech on the subject at the congress attended by the number of leading religious figures, representatives of the international organizations, as well as honorable guests.

Pashazadeh will inform the participants about the contributions of the Caucasian Muslims Office to the process of dialogue and cooperation between the religions, traditions of tolerance in Azerbaijan, which could be an example for the world and results of Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan.

Representatives of the Islamic world, including Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Indonesia, Pakistan, Libya and other countries will attend the congress in Astana.

Kazakhstan's KazMunaiGaz wholly acquires Rompetrol of Romania

The Kazakhstan Oil Rush

No comment could be obtained on this statement from the consortium itself. It emerged that the consortium’s press-service was dissolved and transferred to the press-service of the new operating company North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC), which, in its turn, has just assumed the functions of the operator in the North Caspian (Kashagan) project. NCOC also declined to provide any comment to New Europe on the audit findings, saying that they had to agree on every phrase of a response statement with all of the operating company’s participants, including Shell, KazMunaiGas, ENI, ExxonMobil, and Total (each holding 16.81 percent), ConocoPhillips (8.4 percent), and Inpex (7.56 percent).

Oil major BP plans to leave Kazakhstan

Jordan: King holds talks with Turkmenistan President

His Majesty King Abdullah II and Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov expressed their keenness to boost bilateral ties mainly in the economic field.

Major gas field of Minara opened in eastern Turkmenistan

Over 20 kg of heroin seized on Dushanbe-Moscow train

Russian customs officers have seized more than 20 kilograms of heroin from conductors on a train from Tajikistan bound for Moscow, the Federal Security Service said on Monday.

Regional conference entitled “Islam and Democracy” held in Tajik capital

DUSHANBE, June 29 (Asia-Plus). Although existence of democracy in Central Asia’s states is of declarative nature, however, it gives moderate religious political forces an opportunity to participate in the political arena, that is conclusion of the regional conference, entitled “Islam and Democracy,” which was held in Dushanbe on June 25.

Staged by Russia’s Center for Strategic and Political Studies jointly with the Rose Luxemburg Foundation and the Center for Strategic Studies under the President of Tajikistan, the conference brought together representatives public associations as well as religious experts from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.

Speaking at the conference, Dr. Arne Seifert, former Ambassador and Spokesperson of former German Ambassadors' Initiative "Diplomats for Peace with the Islamic World," noted that Islamic movements active in the region could represent interests of believers in perspective.
He noted that social problems and dual standards of secular authorities might lead to radicalization of society.

Border officer gunned down in Kyrgyzstan

The Stans to clean up radioactive Soviet uranium mine waste

Officials from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan say they have agreed to work together in cleaning up millions of tons of radioactive waste left over from uranium mining during the Cold War.

First national oil company to be created in Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan to maintain US base to defend interests

Kyrgyzstan will maintain a US airbase on its territory to defend its own interests, the Central Asian state's President Kurmanbek Bakiyev said on Monday.

US-Russia report on scrapping nuclear weapons to be unveiled

A three-step process for the phased elimination of nuclear weapons will be unveiled by a powerful group of former policy makers in Washington tomorrow. The report by the Global Zero Commission, formed last December to urge Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev to rid the world of nuclear weapons, is released ahead of a summit in Moscow between the two leaders next weekend. The US-Russia summit, Obama's first as US president, is expected to see a bilateral agreement cutting nuclear stockpiles through a pact to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start-1), which expires this year.

Kamchatka Peninsula: Volcano sends up clouds of ash in Russia's Far East

President of Uzbekistan receives Chinese Vice Premier

Two cheers from the grave punctuate the nationalization of GM

The automaker General Motors filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, and there are surely two people rejoicing in their graves at the news. One of them is John DeLorean. The other is Clement Attlee.

GM makes case for 'new GM'

Regulators Are Natural Target

Jobless rates rise in all US metro areas in May

Obama Unveils Consumer Protection Agency Legislation
Protect the Gubbmints right to Consume you!

Supreme Court's Ruling A Blow To Big Media

The media conglomerates are trading down today, off more than the Dow. One factor pulling them down is the Supreme Court's decision not to consider their appeal to challenge Cablevision Systems new DVR service.

This is a direct blow to NBC Universal, CBS, ABC, and 20th Century Fox, who sued Cablevision in 2006. This decision will enable Cablevision to soon roll out a new kind of DVR, which requires much less capacity.

Corn, Soybeans, Wheat Plummet as US Farmers Boost Acreage
Remeber this when they tell you there is a shortage:

Corn plunged by the Chicago Board of Trade’s limit after a government report showed U.S. farmers planted more acreage with the grain than estimated in March. Wheat and soybeans also tumbled on signs of increasing supplies.

Warren Buffet's son stealthily taking control of Africa's grain?
Under the standard humanitarian pretext.

As soon as next year the world could resume consuming more grain than its farmers produce. That global trend earlier this decade is what drained world grain stockpiles, setting the stage for last year’s price shocks. The fear is that food prices will leap when the world economy recovers.

Uranium Poised to Trigger Scramble

For decades, Botswana has been renowned for its premier position in the production of high value diamonds, the country's economic backbone. The country has also enjoyed the international spotlight for its massive coal reserves which are conservatively estimated at more than two hundred billion tonnes.

However, an unglamorous and previously unexploited mineral is expected to trigger a stampede among investors and mining companies eager to leverage on its rising status as a cash commodity. Uranium, chiefly used in nuclear power generation, has for decades been viewed negatively as it can also be enriched and used for nuclear weapons, the fear of which drove the Cold War of the 1940s to 1990s.

US Renewable Energy: A Self-Inflicted Crisis in the Making

Summary / Conclusions:

• Government handouts and mandates won't work -- never have and never will, in any industry.
• The energy market is currently experiencing an interim period, from which a new energy market enigma has emerged; the renewable energy boom and bust cycle.
• The timing, force, and breadth of this renewable energy boom and bust cycle will be driven by anticipation, greed, and by innovation.
• Companies will reinvent themselves, will exit the business or go under, or will re-form into more capable models.
• Energy supply and demand will not rationalize for many years in the future, and it is likely, for some of the reasons stated, that at that time demand will again significantly overshoot supply.
• There will again be shortages, increased price (and fuel price) volatility, and a marked need for new power generation, primarily natural gas due to its moderate construction time, proven efficiency and security of fuel supply.
• The length of time-between now and when the need will again become evident-corresponds roughly to the design and construction stages of nuclear and large coal fired plants. Those plants, once in place and with their lower generation costs, will be very well placed to participate profitably in the energy markets.
• This is the opportunity before the energy industry today: to face the boom and bust cycle head on, with considered and careful strategic planning, as the industry moves into yet another era.
• Given the poor state of the United States economy, flawed economics of the renewable energy sector, there will be a large heap of distressed energy projects and companies for disciplined investors to pursue, as history has demonstrated.

Republicans Highly Critical of House Energy Bill

Another Step on the Long March to Global Climate Policy
The Whores of Gramsci are Long Marching with Joy to Glorious Victory!

When seen alongside victories on the stimulus bill and the budget, this climate and energy bill must be seen as another sign of a presidency that is beginning to show signs of success.

Feds to investigate the way FEMA drew flood maps

DHS announces $1.8 billion in grants

Napolitano seeks more global collaboration with DHS
Bruno does the Glow Ball.

Penn State researchers receive $1.2 million MURI grant
Dig the language in this thing:

The Center for Network-Centric Cognition and Information Fusion (NC2IF) in Penn State's College of Information Sciences and Technology received a Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative Award (MURI) for "Unified research on network-based hard/soft information fusion" from the Army Research Office.

snip

"We have the capability to turn the whole campus into a laboratory," Hall said. "Everyone is using cell phones and posting things on social networking sites, so they all have the potential to act as data collectors and soft sensors."

2nd Brigade practices rescuing Americans
Why do they have to knock now, instead?

The fictitious nation was conceived amid the pine trees and sand of Fort Bragg and Camp Mackall. It served as the location for a three-day training exercise aimed at testing the readiness of the brigade, which is currently serving as part of the military's Global Response Force.

More than 1,000 paratroopers, 70 airmen, a dozen officials from the State Department and hundreds of role players took part in a rehearsal for a noncombatant evacuation operation. The scenario was developed by military and State Department officials, many of whom have been involved in the planning and execution of similar evacuations.

snip

One of the toughest parts of the training was asking soldiers who are used to kicking down doors to knock instead. Two other large-scale exercises earlier this year tested the brigade's ability to defeat a conventional military threat and an unconventional threat. But last week's scenario called for efficiency and speed, not fighting power.

snip

Gibson said his brigade would be prepared for any deployment scenarios. The 2nd Brigade Combat Team has deployed seven times since Sept. 11, 2001, with none of those deployments expected, he said. Now as a part of the Global Response Team, the brigade's soldiers must be on call in times of a humanitarian crisis, domestic attack or show of force against another nation. "There's a wide range of deployment scenarios," Gibson said. "For us, this is normal."

White House working on border troops plan

The Obama administration is developing a plan to seek up to 1,500 National Guard volunteers to step up the military’s counterdrug efforts along the Mexican border, senior administration officials said Monday.

The stopgap measure between the Defense Department and the Homeland Security Department, and comes despite Pentagon concerns about committing more troops to the border — a move some officials worry will be seen as militarizing the region.

Senior administration officials said the Guard program would last no longer than a year and would build on an existing counterdrug operation. They said the program would be mostly federally funded and draw on National Guard volunteers from the four border states.

Officials said the program would mainly use Guard members for surveillance, intelligence analysis and aviation support. Guard units also would supply ground troops who could assist at border crossings and with land and air transportation.

The Texas National Guard didn’t respond to a request for comment, but a spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry said no formal notification had been received Monday night from the White House or Homeland Security.

Geron, GE Unit Team Up In Stem-Cell Development Pact
In January, Geron received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the first-ever human trial of a medical treatment derived from embryonic stem cells.

Geron Corp. (GERN) agreed to provide stem cells to General Electric Co.'s (GE) GE Healthcare for use in tools that test drug treatments for their toxic effects on the body, particularly the heart and liver.

Elderly, kids urged to skip hajj over swine flu
HARRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAMMMMMM!

WHAT THE FUCK! ? !
Everyone is clinically insane.

Health experts are warning parents against holding "swine flu parties" in the hope of infecting their children with the H1N1 virus.

Talk of swine flu parties has emerged on Internet forums. The idea is that exposing a child to the H1N1 virus while it remains relatively mild will give the child immunity if the virus returns in a more virulent form later on.

Drug stocks inch up; Vical, Geron soar

Drug stocks inched higher in early trading Tuesday while shares of Vical Inc. soared on news that animal studies have shown its experimental H1N1 flu vaccine to be highly effective.

Drug Industry Lobbying Efforts, Campaign Funds Tilt Toward Democrats

The pharmaceutical industry, which has long invested heavily in federal lobbying, is now on course to smash its previous records as it tries to shape the health care overhaul pushed forward by Democrats.

FDA panel considers measures for OTC acetaminophen-containing drugs
Render your Nyquil unto Seizer, MFers, shit is soon to be VERBOTEN.

Reclaiming Biblical Jerusalem

Biblical Archeology: Prophet and the Earthquake

Indian scientists seed clouds to bring on the monsoon
They shoulda just asked Honi the Circle Maker to speak to GOD. Whole lot easier.

Uranium Found on the Moon
GOD help the moon now....

Camp Quest UK

This first year is sponsored by the Richard Dawkins Foundation, and the theme is Evolution (since this is Darwin year). The associated activities all sound like fun, but I particularly liked this one, reported in the Guardian

On top of cooking, hiking and canoeing, activities for campers include a competition to disprove the existence of the mythical unicorn – with the winner receiving a £10 note on which Dawkins, the author of The God Delusion, has signed his name.

Have fun kids!

Obama: no "formal" decision yet about church, Gibbs says

Gibbs' answer used the word formal many times--a wiggle word, perhaps.

He replied, "No. He's -- there have been no formal decisions about joining a church. I think I've mentioned in here, in the past couple of weeks, that when he goes to Camp David, he has attended services at the chapel there. He enjoys the pastor there.

"They're not formally joining that church. And there have been no formal decisions on joining a church in this area. I will say, I think, one aspect of the article that is true, as I mentioned here in that same discussion, was the concern that the president continues to have, about the disruptive nature of his presence on any particular Sunday, in some churches around the area.